An anticipated and highly watched summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the US has warned might end in a weapons sale, Kim Jong Un’s heavily guarded private train has entered Russia, and the North Korean leader has met with officials.

Kim was received by the governor of the Russian area that borders his secrecy state and the Russian Minister of Natural Resources Alexander Kozlov on Tuesday at the Khasan railway station in the Russian Far East, according to the Russian official media agency TASS. The halt was announced by North Korean official media.

The Kim of North Korea is anticipated to continue his journey to meet with Putin someplace in Russia’s Far East.

Analysts claim that it would be a big event since it would bring together two global leaders who are becoming more and more distant from one another.

With its military battered after more than 18 months of fighting in Ukraine, Russia is in desperate need of new ammunition and shells, while North Korea, which has been subject to years of international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons program, is lacking in everything from hard currency and food to missile technology.

The summit might result in Pyongyang obtaining the kinds of weapons that United Nations sanctions have prevented it from obtaining for the last two decades, particularly for its nuclear-capable ballistic missile program.

Russia is looking for new sources of weapons to employ in its conflict with Ukraine, and the US administration stated last week that negotiations regarding arms sales between North Korea and Russia are “actively advancing.” As a result, more conversations may take place.

Speaking on behalf of the South Korean Defense Ministry, Jeon Ha-kyu stated on Tuesday that the department is closely monitoring whether talks on a weapons purchase and technology transfer between North Korea and Russia would continue.

North Korean news agency KCNA stated on Tuesday that the country’s leader left Pyongyang’s capital on Sunday afternoon with senior party leaders, representatives of the executive branch, and military personnel.

According to images released by North Korean state media KCNA, Kim’s team includes senior military figures as well as the country’s top diplomat.

Ri Pyong Chol, Kim’s military deputy, may be seen boarding the train in one of the KCNA images. As the former head of the Department of the Munitions Industry, Ri is a target of US and UN sanctions because of his involvement in overseeing the nation’s ballistic missile development.

Kim was seen boarding the green train and strolling down a red carpet at a Pyongyang stop in earlier KCNA photos. Onlookers could be seen applauding and waving flags in the background.

Neither nation has provided information about the visit’s timing or location.

According to Russian official media TASS, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “At this point, we are not saying, in the Far East,” later adding that the two leaders will meet in “the next few days.”

According to Peskov, the meeting would prioritize fostering bilateral ties between the two countries and will be a “full-blown visit, with talks between the two delegations.”

Peskov noted that the discussions will also cover “sensitive areas,” and a formal supper will be held in honor of Kim’s visit.

The Far East region of Russia is a sizable area of land that borders China, North Korea, and Mongolia. According to various local reports in Vladivostok, the train said to be transporting Kim looks to be traveling farther north than the eastern port of Vladivostok, instead heading toward the province of Khabarovsk, which borders China.

Putin spoke at the Eastern Economic Forum on Tuesday in Vladivostok, praising the potential for commerce between Russia and the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Russian official kim media outlets, Putin met with China’s Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing outside of the conference and stated that the two nations’ ties had reached an “unprecedented historical level.”

Kim’s first trip abroad:

It is Kim’s first journey outside of North Korea since the COVID-19 epidemic when the country’s borders were closed, and it represents a rare international excursion for the ruler of one of the world’s most remote countries.

Since coming to power in 2011, Kim has only been overseas ten times, all of which occurred in 2018 and 2019. These trips coincided with the North Korean leader’s involvement in negotiations about the country’s nuclear and missile programs.

Amid the ongoing and unresolved issue over North Korea’s nuclear program and the unsuccessful negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington, Kim last traveled to Russia in April 2019 on a trip to Vladivostok, where he had his first encounter with Putin.

The North Korean leader arrived in Russia on Tuesday on his renowned, distinctively green train, which has come to represent the hermit nation’s seclusion and mystery.

Like his father and grandparents, Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung, Kim is known to love taking the opulent armored train, which has long been the focus of mystery.

Warning from Washington:

After Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Pyongyang in July to persuade it to provide artillery ammo to Moscow, Washington issued a warning about what may be presented during a potential Kim-Putin summit.

North Korea would “pay a price” if it signs a weapons deal with Russia, the White House’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan said last Tuesday, without going into further detail about the potential consequences.

The White House again encouraged North Korea on Monday “not to provide or sell arms to Russia.”

Arms talks between Russia and the DPRK are anticipated to continue during Kim Jong Un’s visit to Russia, as the National Security Council has already warned the public.

United Nations and US sanctions against North Korea have already been put in place as a result of Pyongyang’s weapons development.

Kim has been rapidly expanding his ballistic missile program over the past two years despite the UN sanctions. He has tested a large number of missiles throughout that time, including ICBMs that could theoretically deliver a nuclear payload over the US mainland.

However, there are still questions over the country’s capabilities.

• Analysts said it would be a boost for Kim’s projects and a major source of concern for Western leaders if he were to obtain technology from Russia, which has long been a global leader in nuclear missile weapons.
• Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, told CNN before the meeting that a one-on-one encounter between Kim and Putin would be a “very significant development.”
• According to Easley, Russia possesses the military technology that Kim desires for his nefarious satellite launch and nuclear weapon delivery plans.
• Moscow, for its part, is in dire need of ammunition and small weaponry on the front lines in Ukraine, places where analysts claim North Korea has substantial production capabilities.

Former director of operations at the Joint Intelligence Center of the US Pacific Command Carl Schuster claimed that North Korea “makes good what I call heavy industrial weapons.” It has excellent artillery and ammunition. It closely resembles Russian patterns.

Other analysts, however, have said that Russian munitions from North Korea wouldn’t fundamentally alter the situation in Ukraine.

According to a research associate for defense and military studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Joseph Dempsey, “These [arms] could help replenish depleted stocks and prolong the conflict but are not going to change its direction.”

In September 2022, when news of North Korean military shipments to Russia surfaced, a representative of the North Korean Defense Ministry declared that Pyongyang had “never exported weapons or ammunition to Russia before and we will not plan to export them.”

A dark green train with a yellow accent was seen on Monday at the border between North Korea, China, and Russia. Its striking coloration made it clear that it was a unique car designed just to carry Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea.

Kim seldom departs from North Korea. And when he does, he doesn’t often fly; instead, like his father and grandfather before him, he prefers to board an armored train. This time, it’s thought that Kim is en route to Russia for a meeting with Vladimir Putin. This will be his first known journey outside of North Korea in more than four years.

A slowly moving fortified castle:

What do we now know about Kim’s railroad fortress? It is enormous, to start with.

The South Korean media site Chosun reported in 2009 on the railway that Kim Jong Il used, estimating that its engine hauled about 90 vehicles behind it. There may just be 21 people left on Kim Jong Un’s train, according to more recent assessments. According to some sources, Kim may be traveling with two additional trains: one to examine the tracks in front of him and the other to transport his security detail.

The train has meeting rooms and sleeping quarters for conducting official government work. There haven’t been many pictures of it inside, but a video from 2018 showed Kim meeting with high Chinese officials in a large train compartment surrounded by pink sofas.

Compared to most modern trains, the train goes slowly because of the bulletproof siding. It can accelerate while using China’s rail system, but it is only thought to go at a speed of about 28 miles per hour on lines in North Korea.

With Kim’s family:

Kim Il Sung, the creator of North Korea, was reportedly given a train carriage by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. This launched the Kim family’s love of rail travel. Famously terrified of flying, Kim Jong Il prefers to go by train. His former bodyguard informed South Korean media in 2010 that the North Korean leader feared being shot down if he traveled by jet because of his adversaries. The next year, Kim passed dead from heart failure; according to North Korean official media, he did so while riding a train.

The familial tradition has been carried forward by North Korea’s current leader, Kim Jong Un. He rode an armored train across China for around 4,500 kilometers in 2019 to get to Vietnam for his second face-to-face summit with then-President Donald Trump. In total, the trip lasted 2.5 days.

Faster and more potent than a speeding bullet

The majority of information regarding the train comes from intelligence files, the memories of former officials who were allowed to ride it, and rare state news media films.
Using confidential material, a 2009 South Korean news article claimed that the leader has access to at least 90 high-security carriages.

The study, which was prepared when Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, was in power, claims that every time the leader travels, three trains are in operation: the leader’s train, an advanced security train, and a third that is loaded with extra bodyguards and supplies.
The carriages weigh thousands of pounds more than usual since each one is bulletproof. The result of the extra weight is a sluggish ride.

In Kim Jong-il’s era, 100 security personnel rode on the lead train, checking stations for explosives and other dangers and vetting the track’s security, according to a 2009 study. In order to increase security, military helicopters and aircraft would also fly overhead.

According to the article, 20 train stations have been constructed around North Korea just for the leader’s personal use.

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